Oblivion
by DivergentDemigod42
Summary: Out of all the obstacles in Leo Valdez's life, loving a girl in oblivion could have been one of the hardest.


They were thirteen.

_She_ was thirteen. _He _was a few days from fourteen.

Most people immediately associated her with the word _trouble_. They thought she was a kleptomaniac with mental problems.

He _knew_ she was a kleptomaniac with mental problems. Yet, he still thought she was beautiful.

She seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. It was the bad type of attention, but he figured out that even if it was the good type of attention, she would still be uneasy.

Her eyes met his. Her eyes were like a mesmerizing vortex of color, a rainbow swirl, swiftly flowing from brown to blue to green.

_He _was the only one not teasing her about her fashion sense, or her choppy hair, or her ethnicity.

She straightened and strode over to him, confidence flowing in her walk.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. You, on the other hand, don't seem so good. Want some help with that?"

"With what?"

"That little group of gossiping Barbie dolls and hunky man-cows over there."

She snorted. "That would be nice."

"YO!" He yelled. He could practically feel their stupidity as they looked at him. "Susan knocked over Lily in the cafeteria and got spaghetti all over her shirt! They're in this full-on swearing battle! Go take pictures or something!"

They immediately rushed away, forgetting about her.

She giggled. "Who's Susan?"

"No clue."

"Lily?"

"A mere figment of my imagination."

She laughed again. He thought it was a beautiful sound, a beautiful sight. She sounded like an angel, and he loved the way her braids bounced and her eyes squeezed shut.

She let out a few more giggles before regaining her straight posture, formally holding out her hand.

"Piper McLean."

"Leo Valdez."

* * *

><p>"So, we meet again."<p>

Piper jumped and turned, relaxing when she saw Leo. "Oh. Hi."

"Hey. You seem like a good kid. Why are you here?"

She blinked. "Um. I stole a BMW."

"No, really."

"I'm not kidding."

He stared at her intently. "Hmm. I'm impressed."

"What about you?"

He purposely left out the whole story about his mother. "I, uh, ran away six times."

"Ah."

* * *

><p>"Find a partner, cupcakes! It's project time!"<p>

Leo's eyes immediately darted to Piper.

_Would you do me the honor of being your partner?_

_Does it look like I could go with anybody else?_

_Honestly, no, it doesn't._

_True answer, though I was hoping for some sympathy._

_Puh-leese, I'm Leo._

_Your point is?_

_Does it look like I ever have sympathy?_

_Honestly, no, it doesn't._

She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

* * *

><p>"So. We have to create a mini roller coaster using straws, cardboard, pipe cleaners, and then a golf ball for the 'car.' I was thinking-"<p>

"You want some popcorn?"

"What?"

"I said, do you want some popcorn? I found some popcorn in the teachers' lounge."

"How'd you even get in the teachers' lounge?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"You're such a dork."

"Thank you, madam."

* * *

><p>"This is the worst thing I've ever seen in my life."<p>

Leo snorted. "Thanks for taking it easy on us, Hedge."

The coach grunted, gave Leo a death glare (though to him, it looked a bit like a constipated pig), and stalked off to go brutally criticize someone else's roller coaster.

"Well." Piper shrugged. "Could have been way worse."

"Not really."

Piper gave him her death glare, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was compared to Coach Hedge's.

Or anyone's, for that matter.

* * *

><p>"Hey, mom, it's my birthday. I'm finally fourteen. Amazing, right? Life's been quite a journey. I just wish I could have had you by my side. I get bullied, my grades are pretty low. Coach Hedge insists on calling me a cupcake. I mean, he guess he does that to everybody, but I feel like I'm the one he really thinks of as a cupcake. Like, a mega cupcake. I dunno.<p>

"But, you know, life's still okay. It could have been way worse. I met a girl named Piper. She's really pretty ... like, _really_ pretty. I mean, her brown hair is choppy and her clothes aren't exactly trending, but she's still attractive. And her eyes - oh god, her _eyes _- they're beautiful, mom! They change color like a kaleidoscope, and they're just ... _wow_, mom.

"She's really nice. I wish you could meet her. And, you know, I may not have you by my side right now, but I have Piper. With her, I feel like I have a better chance at surviving life."

* * *

><p>Leo hated running.<p>

Most people ignored him while he flailed around on the track, barely managing to get one lap done. Piper insisted on laughing at him.

"Move it, Valdez!" Piper screamed in unison with Coach Hedge.

The pudgy man looked at her with a mixed expression of confusion and anger, but she was too busy guffawing to really care.

"Not helping, Piper!" Leo yelled.

"I know!"

* * *

><p>"Valdez! Will you <em>stop<em> that?"

"Sorry." Leo smiled sheepishly. Truthfully, he loved annoying Piper. He thought it was cute, the way her eyebrows scrunched together. Her adorable pout was the only reason he kept tapping against the table, aside from his ADHD.

"I can't focus!"

"Try failing the test for once."

"Excuse me?"

"Come to the dark side. We have cookies."

* * *

><p>"Do you like cheese?"<p>

"Do I like ... cheese ..."

"Yes, Piper, it's a simple question. _Do you like cheese_?"_  
><em>

"Okay then. Uh, sure, I like cheese."

"What types of cheese?"

"Cheddar. Mozzarella."

"Which one is your favorite?"

"Um ... mozzarella, I guess."

"Ah."

"... why are you asking me this?"

Leo sighed. "Frankly, I'm not sure."

She rolled her beautiful multicolored eyes and laughed, slapping his arm playfully before finishing her essay.

* * *

><p>"Did I ever tell you who my dad is?"<p>

"No."

"That's what I thought."

"Well?"

"What?"

"Who's your dad?"

"Oh, well, uh-"

"Come on, Pipes, nothing to be afraid of here."

Her eyebrows furrowed (Leo thought it was surprisingly attractive), and she sighed. "Tristan McLean. The actor, you know?"

Leo's eyes widened. "You're joking."

"Not joking."

"Stop playing with me."

Piper rolled her eyes and whipped out her phone. She pushed it into Leo's face and there it was; a picture of the famous Tristan McLean, with the simple caption of "Dad."

"You can try calling him, but he doesn't usually respond. All busy with acting and whatever."

Leo's eyes darted from Piper to her phone. Piper stared at him before waving her hand in a "go on" gesture.

Tentatively, he touched the "Call" button and brought the phone to his ear.

One ring. Another. A third. Followed by a fourth, and then a fifth, and then-

"Hey, this is Tristan McLean."

"Hi, uh, hey, erm ..." Leo stared at Piper, mouth hanging in shock. Her kaleidoscope eyes brightened, and she grabbed the phone out of his hand, pressing it to her ear.

"Dad?" She exclaimed, elation dripping in her voice. "Dad, you finally picked up! What? Oh, that was Leo. Dad, he's not my _boyfriend_-" Leo and Piper visibly blushed, "-he's just a friend. School's okay. Leo's my only friend, really ..."

She kept talking with the famous actor, her father, smirking at Leo's priceless expression all the while.

* * *

><p>"Let's play a game. Give me one adjective that you think describes me, and I'll give you one. We have to be perfectly honest. Okay?"<p>

"Sure." Leo sank into the couch. "Do I go first?"

"Why not?"

"Okay. Pretty."

She blushed. "Sarcastic.

"Smart."

"Idiotic." He cocked an eyebrow. "Sometimes," she admitted, and he just shrugged.

"Funny," he continued.

"Hilarious."

"Sporty."

"Crazy."

"Awesome."

"Cool."

"Amazing."

"Incredible."

"_Perfect_."

* * *

><p>"We shouldn't be here."<p>

"All you have to do is-"

"Leo, it's too late." Piper groaned, though she couldn't help but let a small smile tug at her lips.

"I know, Piper, but really-"

"Come on! I don't want to get in trouble!" She was laughing now, her hand covering her mouth.

"It's really simple, all you have to do is just-" Leo leaned back and strutted forward, arms swinging loosely, pink cape flailing behind him. Piper was holding onto a table to keep from falling over in laughter.

"Oh god, Leo," she said, banging her head on the tabletop. "Stop it, I'm going to puke."

"Gee, thanks. It's always my job to make sure that people puke when they see me strutting my stuff."

Piper fell onto the table, hitting it with her fists and laughing so hard that tears came streaming out of her eyes.

"Hmm. I made you cry." Leo looked away dramatically, stroking an imaginary beard. "... am I that bad?"

"God, Leo, _stop it_!"

Leo pouted, his back slumping over. A sly grin slowly passed over his face.

He ran over to the poor girl (who was still uncontrollably laughing like a crazed hyena) and started tickling her.

"Leo!" She shrieked shrilly, squirming.

"That's my name!"

"Leo, stop it! Stop!"

She sounded like a crazed hyena on steroids.

"Never!" His grin grew wider as he continued to tickle her.

"_Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooooooo_!"

Piper suddenly jerked backward, Leo falling with her. He fell onto the table next to her, still tickling her.

"Stop it! Seriously, Leo, STOP IT!"

"Fine, fine, fine." He drew his hands back reluctantly, and the girl stopped squirming. Leo could her hear breathing; slow, steady, deep.

"Don't ever do that again unless you want to die a slow and painful death."

"Yes, ma'am."

Piper sighed. She snuggled into the boy's chest.

He didn't respond at first. He just lay there on his side, staring in shock at nothing in general, before he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Goodnight, Leo."

"'Night, Pipes."

And so, they fell asleep like that, Piper's head buried into Leo's shoulder, Leo too blinded by complete bliss to realize that Coach Hedge would probably kill them in the morning.

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday!" Leo screamed, jumping on his best friend.<p>

Piper stumbled a bit. "How'd you know it was my birthday?"

"I'm a stalker."

"Peachy." Piper laughed, smiling at Leo.

"You get a cupcake!" Leo whipped his arms out from behind his back and gave her a red velvet cupcake.

"... did you make this yourself?"

"Yeah. How did you guess?"

"Well, I don't see any other logical explanation to it looking like a red cinder block."

* * *

><p>"Do you really want to do this?"<p>

"Leo, I'm fourteen years old."

"Still."

"What?"

"I'm not sure if you can do this."

"Honestly!" Piper threw her arms up in frustration. "I stole a BMW, and you don't think I can present a speech!"

"In front of this many people? No, I really don't."

"_Leo_! There are four people! And they're not even real people!"

Leo turned to face Piper's audience; his stuffed Teletubbies.

"You hurt their feelings."

* * *

><p>"Today's the day."<p>

"... what day?"

"My speech, you idiot!"

"I knew that."

* * *

><p>"Leo!" Piper shrieked, crashing into him. "Leo, I did it! I did it! I got an A on my speech! God, Leo, I can't believe it!"<p>

She wrapped her arms around him and embraced him tightly, humming with happiness. "Who knew talking to stuffed Teletubbies could be so effective?"

"Me," he said, grinning arrogantly. He hugged her back without hesitation. She smelled like cinnamon.

She pulled away and smiled at him.

He got lost in those ever changing eyes, swiftly and smoothly going from dark blue to light blue to light green to dark green.

"Wanna get some ice cream? My treat!" Her eyes and her angelic voice were filled with ecstasy.

"Of course I do."

* * *

><p>He was in love.<p>

Sure, they were only fourteen. Leo still thought they were eligible for a date.

He didn't dress fancy or anything; she would have been suspicious.

Leo found Piper sitting on a bench, bending over her lap. Her mechanical pencil was moving swiftly over a pad of paper, drawing something that he couldn't see, her bag slumped next to her. Her hair covered her face, but he could see a sky blue eye peeking through the brown curtain.

He cleared his throat and walked over to her.

"Hey."

Piper looked up, her eyes now an excited shade of emerald green. She smiled. "Hey, Leo."

He grinned, glancing down at her paper, honestly shocked to see a beautiful black-and-white picture of a peacock feather.

"Nice drawing, Beauty Queen."

She pouted, as Leo knew she didn't particularly enjoy the nickname (though he believed it fit her perfectly). Yet, he could see the faint blush on her cheeks.

"Dad enrolled me in art classes when I was younger, since he didn't have any time to do anything with me," she said with a surprisingly nonchalant tone.

"I have time for you," Leo muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Never mind. Um ..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "So ... I was thinking, maybe you'd want to go out to dinner tonight? There's a really nice restaurant over there, just a few buildings down."

She smiled brightly. "Sure! I'd love to! Hey, can I bring my friend Lacy? She's a new student. I'm her only friend, really. I think you'd like her."

Leo tried hard to hide his frown. _Really_ hard, though the action itself was _really_ hard. His face probably looked like an awkward mix of a grin and a disappointed scowl. "Yeah. Sure. That'd be, erm, great."

"Awesome! Thanks!" Piper grinned at him and stood up, shouldering her bag. "Speaking of Lacy, I need to go help her with her math homework. I'll see you tonight, I guess!" She walked off.

Leo watched her saunter away, her mane of brown hair bouncing with each step. He wanted it to be a date. He wanted it to be just the two of them.

Maybe she didn't get the message. What had Leo said? What had he done wrong?

He pondered on the fact that maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe Piper McLean was just in oblivion.

* * *

><p>So, maybe it wasn't quite <em>maybe<em>.

Leo knew she was in oblivion. He knew she didn't know about his feelings for her.

What he didn't know was whether he intended to keep it that way.

* * *

><p>"Hmm. I think I have a new nickname for you."<p>

"What's that?" Leo was watching his handmade helicopter fly around. The wings were made of pipe cleaners, and the thing itself didn't even have an engine, yet he had managed to make it work.

Piper smiled at him. "Repair Boy. You can fix anything. And make, too." She gestured to the helicopter, which was now aimlessly turning in circles.

He shrugged. "I guess."

She tilted her head, a perfect eyebrow arched. "You seem less ... _you_."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She sighed, looking off into the distance. Her choppy brown hair was blowing around wildly, and her sea green eyes were squinting from the light of the setting sun.

Leo mentally groaned. She was just _too _pretty.

"You're not as energetic. Your voice sounds all dull and stuff, and your eyes are missing that spark that tells me you probably had too much coffee."

"I don't drink coffee."

"That's not the point."

He didn't respond for a while, but when he did, his reply didn't seem to satisfy her.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"I don't ... fine. Whatever." She gave up. Though, even as she stood up, Leo could see the evident worry in her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Hi, Leo!" The Cherokee girl exclaimed perkily.<p>

"Piper." Leo nodded, his eyes fixed ahead of him.

Piper frowned, sliding onto the bench next to him. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

He didn't say anything.

"Hello? Leo? Repair Boy? Anybody there?"

Leo blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"What's wrong?" Leo turned his head and stared straight into Piper's eyes. They were a worried swirl of brown, hazel, and green, changing ever so slowly.

_Oh, nothing much, just the fact that you can't see that I freaking love you._

"It's nothing. Really."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Piper stared into his eyes for a while longer, searching for something he had hidden. Finally, she reached out and gave his hand a firm squeeze. She smiled softly and got up, adjusting her bag and walking away.

* * *

><p>"I heard there's a new boy coming."<p>

"Hmm?"

"A student from California. Apparently, his stepmom wants to try something."

"What's his name?"

"Jason ... Jason Grace, I think."

"And where'd you hear all this?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Normally I'm the sneaky one, right?"

Piper grinned at Leo. "Yeah. _Normally_."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Piper." Dylan, the school pretty boy, was all up in the poor girl's face, his stinky breath flowing into her nose and making her gag.<p>

"Dylan," she greeted, coldly and firmly.

"You're looking really pretty today, girly."

"Thanks ..." she said uncertainly, drawing out the word.

"I was thinking ... maybe you wanted to go out on a date?"

Piper glanced at Leo, who was staring at his shoes.

She sighed. "No, Dylan. No thank you."

He huffed. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm very sure."

"You're missing out on a lot."

"Whatever."

Dylan turned and stalked away with his entourage of idiots.

Piper smiled at Leo.

For the first time since their "date," Leo thought that maybe Piper McLean wasn't in oblivion.

* * *

><p>"You know, if you told them who your dad is, they wouldn't hate you as much." He was genuinely concerned about her. The bullying had gotten worse; yesterday, Isabel had teased her because of her Native American heritage, asking her where her tribe was. All Leo wanted was to connect his fist with her makeup-covered face, to effectively shut up that mouth constantly spurting racist insults.<p>

Piper snorted. "I doubt that. They probably wouldn't believe me and just call me some kind of wannabe or something."

"... true."

She rolled her eyes, now a mix of brown and green.

He let the thought go and spotted Isabel a few feet away, surrounded by her popular clique.

"Hey, Isabel!" He hollered. "The circus called! They want their makeup back."

Isabel turned ever so slowly, nostrils flaring, blue eyes igniting with anger.

Piper inhaled sharply. "Oh god, Leo, what did you just do?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Run<em>!" Piper screamed, sprinting ahead. Leo whipped around and almost froze in terror.

"I'm running!" He yelled back, turning on his heel and following Piper. She was getting closer. A simple misstep and Leo was dead.

"McLean! Valdez! You are _so _going to pay for this!"

"Not planning on it, Isabel!"

The chaser growled, the rhythm of clacking heels growing noticeably faster. Leo pumped his legs harder, catching up to Piper.

"What did you do this time?" The fourteen-year-old girl asked breathlessly, pushing her mahogany hair out of her face. She ran faster, placing herself in front of Leo again.

"I may or may not have replaced her shampoo with neon green hair dye."

"Leo!"

"Sorry." He turned his head; Isabel, with four-inch-heels (how the heck could she run in those?) and unnatural neon green hair, was closing behind them, a look of pure rage plastered onto her face.

"She looks like a retarded donkey with digestion problems."

"Not the time!"

"_WHAT THE FUDGEBALLS IS HAPPENING_?" Piper stopped abruptly, Leo crashing into her. He stumbled and regained his balance as Isabel came up next to him, glaring at him with fury. Whistling nonchalantly, Leo turned to look over Piper's shoulder, where an angry Coach Hedge (his resemblance to Isabel was unreal) was standing.

"Y'all are in big trouble, cupcakes."

* * *

><p>"I didn't do anything!" Piper said for the fifteenth time. "I didn't even know he did this until Isabel started chasing us!"<p>

"Why was she even chasing you in the first place?" Hedge cocked an eyebrow toward Isabel, who was still fuming.

"Probably because she hates her," Leo said with a shrug.

Piper groaned. "Really, Leo, you can never pick the right time to say anything!"

"Do you see what he did to my hair?" Isabel said suddenly, shrieking shrilly. Leo jumped, hitting his head on a shelf. "It's freaking _green_! He dyed it _green_!"_  
><em>

"Well, technically, I just emptied out your shampoo bottle and dumped in some green hair dye. Really, it was your choice to use it."

"_SHUT UP_!" The same two words came from the other three, effectively shutting Leo up.

Hedge cracked his knuckles. "Well, Isabel, 'afraid I can't do anything about your ... colorful 'do there, but you're off the hook. Just try to ... you know ... not kill them. The paperwork is disgusting."

Isabel flipped her neon locks, let out a somewhat satisfied "hmph," sent one more glare at Leo and Piper, and turned, sashaying out of the office.

"As for you two ..."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we're doing this."<p>

"Suck it up, McLean."

She glared at him again, and Leo smiled to himself. Her glare was still beautiful ... despite the fact that she was completely covered in dirt.

And she smelled like cow manure.

"Yuck, this is gross!" She picked at a candy wrapper, hidden under a pile of excrement.

"You think?"

"Why did we have to clean up this field, of all ... fields?" She demanded.

"Apparently, all the other ones were taken. Just avoid the poop."

* * *

><p>"Hey Pi-" The Latino boy broke into a fit of coughing. "Ugh, what is that smell?"<p>

"Perfume." Piper spritzed herself one more time, before setting down the bottle and sighing contentedly. "I think I still smell like ... feces."

"Seriously? You just took a shower."

"So?"

"You were in there for, like, an hour."

"Ahem, fifty-eight minutes and six-point-five seconds."

"Do you really keep track of that?"

"No. Lacy does. You know, the new boy is coming today."

"Oh, really? Hold on a sec ... Piper McLean, are you trying to _impress _Jason Grace?"

"Pshh, what? Of course not!"

"You sure about that?"

"Maybe."

* * *

><p>He was watching them from the ground.<p>

No, Leo didn't want to be a stalker, but he couldn't resist.

He watched that newbie kid from California, Jason Grace, dance with Piper.

_His_ Piper.

When Jason leaned down and kissed her, Leo could feel his heart break in two. He had known Piper longer. He had been planning for _so long _to ask her out and have her finally understand.

Then, Mr. Jason "I'm-So-Perfect" Grace just had to stroll in.

Piper pulled back and beamed at Jason.

Leo gave up. He was positive that Piper McLean was in oblivion.

* * *

><p>"Are you busy tomorrow night?"<p>

"Uh ... why?"

"I dunno. I have no plans, I was thinking that maybe we could go watch a movie or something? I mean, not as a date, but ..." He trailed off awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh." Piper looked at him, her cobalt blue eyes sad. "Sorry, I have a date with Jason."

"Oh." Leo stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying hard to hide his disappointment. "It's okay."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Leo, guess what?" Piper exclaimed.<p>

Leo turned, his smile fading when he saw that his best friend was holding hands with a beaming Jason Grace.

"What?"

"Jason is taking me to Hawaii next month!" She squealed, squeezing Jason's hand. "Isn't he such a sweetie?" The guy blushed.

"Oh, well, it was nothing, my dad owns a line of airplanes and so we get a free flight ..."

"Cool." Leo forced a grin. "I'm happy for you guys."

* * *

><p>Jason Grace was actually pretty cool.<p>

Piper was out studying with Lacy, and so Leo had been left in an awkward silence with Jason, who was switching his balance from his left to right foot.

"So."

"So."

"Where are you from? Like, where exactly?"

Jason stuck his hands in his pockets. "San Francisco. There's this really prestigious school over there, my dad forced me to attend it. It's really strict, pretty professional and stuff."

"'And stuff.' You definitely sound professional."

"I know, right?"

Leo looked at Jason, who had a twinkle in his vibrant blue eyes. Before they knew it, they were both uncontrollably cracking up for no reason.

"I think we have problems."

"No joke, Blondie."

* * *

><p>They were a trio.<p>

Jason, Piper, and Leo. You'd practically _never _see them apart. They were always laughing, talking. Jason and Piper were Leo's best friends. He loved them.

Yet somehow, he still felt like a third wheel.

It was always Jason, Piper, and Leo. Leo was always last, always forgotten.

Jason was the Golden Boy, the popular, handsome jock that everybody knew and adored. Piper was the Beauty Queen, all boys loved her and all girls (aside from Isabel and her clown clique) envied her. Leo was no longer the only one who acknowledged her stunning beauty.

Then, of course, there was Leo himself; the lousy Repair Boy that nobody needed. He was just there, hanging out on the side, always with a stupid joke that no one found funny (they actually found it quite annoying). No one called him good-looking, attractive, handsome. No one recognized the fact that he could do special things, too. He had built a working helicopter out of pipe cleaners, after all.

And whenever Piper kissed Jason, his heart broke a little more.

* * *

><p>"Hey, guys?" Jason said nervously, interrupting their study session (though, in reality, it was Jason beating his head against his textbook, Leo creating several paper airplanes, and Piper repeatedly undoing her braids, only to be braided again moments later).<p>

"Yeah?" Piper let go of her half-braided strand of hair and turned her direct attention to Jason, beaming at him. It was something that Leo was certainly jealous of. Majority of the time, when he talked to her, she would start dozing off into her own world and probably forget he existed.

"Um, well, my dad called. He said ... I have to go back to California in a week. I'm really sorry, guys."

Piper's face fell. "What? Why?"

Jason sighed. "I think my stepmom is done with her little 'project.' Honestly, I'm not really sure what she was trying to accomplish, but ... well ... I guess she did it. I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p>Crying was definitely <em>not <em>something Leo saw Piper do very often.

She was incredibly tough. Leo hadn't even seen her shed a tear before, aside from that time. Those were tears of laughter, and therefore, he didn't believe that they counted.

He found her sitting on the ground, back pushed up against a tree trunk, her knees brought to her chest. Her head was buried in between her knees, body shaking with sobs.

"Piper?" Leo asked gently, walking over as slowly as possible (mostly in fear that she would lash out and quite possibly kill him).

"Go away." Her voice was raspy and rough.

"Hmm. Let me think about it."

"... have you thought about it?"

"Piper, you know I didn't give any effort to think about that. Of course I'm staying."

"Hmph."

Leo fell down next to her. "What happened?"

"Stuff."

Leo snorted. "Gee, very descriptive."

"Oh, shut up!" Piper cried, her head jerking upward. Her eyes were watery and bloodshot, her tanned cheeks stained with tears. "This isn't funny, Leo! Not everything has to be hilarious! You're so insensitive!"

He blinked, softening his expression and tone of voice. "God, Piper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ... never mind. What happened?"

She took the back of her hand and furiously rubbed away stray tears. "Jason went back to San Francisco today. I asked him if, you know, maybe we could try for a long distance relationship. He said that wasn't possible." She paused (for dramatic effect or the chance to choke back a sob, Leo wasn't sure).

"Why?"

"There's this girl back at his school ... _Reyna_, that's what Jason said her name was. He said that he shouldn't have dated me, and ... well, there you go." She let out another sob, shaking her head.

"Oh."

Silence followed, the two teenagers hearing nothing but the rustle of leaves and the warm autumn breeze.

"Don't you get it, Leo?"

"What?"

"He never loved me. I was just a replacement."

* * *

><p>Judging by the excessive amount of ice cream buckets and Netflix orders, Piper McLean was depressed.<p>

Leo visited her dorm room regularly. Lacy (she had personally requested to become Piper's roommate after she heard the news) was always there, staring sadly at Piper while she binge watched sad love movies.

"She's not getting better," Leo whispered to Lacy one day.

"I know." Lacy turned to him, a tear dropping out of her crystal blue eyes. "I can't do anything about it. She's losing herself to him, and ..."

"You hate it. I hate it."

* * *

><p>"Piper, you need to forget about him."<p>

He was angry now. She hadn't smiled at all since Jason left.

"I can't."

"Why not?" He demanded. "Why can't you forget? What's so hard about it?"

She pursed her lips, shutting her eyes. "I don't know. I just ... I can't."

Leo growled in frustration and stalked away, leaving Piper there.

He didn't know how much Piper needed him.

* * *

><p>"Leo!" A high-pitched shriek came from behind him. He turned. Lacy stood there, looking more jubilant than usual.<p>

"What?" He asked eagerly.

"She's getting better! Really! She got out of the room today, met this blonde girl ... Annabelle or something? She has a really hot boyfriend, he-"

Leo cleared his throat. "Um."

She blushed. "Oh, right. Anyway, they started talking ... they seem like they have a really good friendship in store. She said she's looking for you, so ... you know. Good luck!"

Lacy skipped off, leaving a very excited Leo.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Leo!" Leo immediately looked up from his "essay" (which was really a string of profanities directed toward a certain blonde boy), surprised to hear Piper so happy.<p>

"What's up, Beauty Queen?"

She was grinning ear to ear. "I met somebody today. Annabeth Chase. Just transferred. She's freakishly smart, which I think is pretty cool. She's kind of defying the whole dumb-blonde stereotype thing."

"I'm assuming she's blonde."

"_No_, Leo, she's a redhead." Leo laughed, which wasn't something had done in a while. "Anyway, she's really nice. And her boyfriend is pretty cool, too. Percy Jackson?"

"I've heard of him. Isn't he, like, unnaturally gorgeous?"

"I guess you could say that. Anyway, they invited me out to dinner. I was thinking ... maybe you wanted to come?"

It was Leo's turn to smile. "I'd love to."

* * *

><p>He wasn't a third wheel anymore. Or a fourth wheel, whatever. Either way, he was fully included in the group.<p>

Annabeth and Percy were really cool. Annabeth could be a little uptight, but they managed to loosen her up. Percy was goofy and humorous; he honestly reminded Leo of himself, just older and way more attractive.

"You should have seen her face!" Piper was saying. "Leo, what was that you said?"

"She looked like a retarded donkey with digestion problems," Leo said proudly with a lopsided grin. Annabeth was laughing way too much, her blonde princess curls bouncing, and Percy had spit out his blue (yes, _blue_) Coke and was coughing and laughing at the same time.

"Percy, remember our first-er, second kiss?" Annabeth said after another round of guffawing.

His eyes widened. "Oh god, that was ..."

"Scary, admittedly, but amazing. We were at a summer camp and some friends dumped us into the lake ... I guess we weren't in a very intelligent mood, because we kissed. Underwater."

"Could you breathe?" Leo asked before realizing how stupid that question sounded.

"Yes, Leo. I have superhuman powers which enable me to control water and create an underwater air bubble so that Annabeth and I can make out without worrying about drowning."

Leo smiled sheepishly, and the four of them burst into laughter again. That was the entire night; one of them told a story, all of them laughed, Leo made an incoherent remark, so on and so forth. It was the most fun Leo had experienced in a while.

"Well, Percy and I should really get going. I still need to go over my schedule ..." Annabeth slid out of the booth, linking an arm through Percy's. "Catch you guys later?"

"Sure!" Piper said brightly. Annabeth and Percy beamed and walked off, leaving Piper and Leo alone. Together, they walked out of the restaurant to the bus stop (Percy had previously insisted on taking them back, though they denied the offer).

"Wow." Leo exhaled. "That was really fun. And filling. I think I gained four pounds."

Piper threw her head back and laughed, making Leo grin. He seriously hadn't seen her this happy in forever.

"We should really do this more often."

"Yeah." Leo turned to face Piper. Her eyes were flashing, changing color faster than ever. The yellow beam from the streetlight reflected upon her irises, making them sparkle.

Frankly, he wasn't sure what happened. One blink, and all he processed was the feeling of her lips on his.

She pulled away almost immediately, turning.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't be," he replied quietly, and the two waited in silence.

* * *

><p>He saw the car first.<p>

She was walking across the street with Annabeth.

They were laughing when the car ran the red light.

There were a numerous amount of possibilities as to why the car didn't stop. Maybe the driver was drunk. Maybe the brakes weren't working, or they just didn't see the red light.

It didn't matter.

Time reduced to slow motion as Leo moved keeping up with the car as best as he could. He breathed as he managed to surpass the car.

He pushed the girls out of the way.

There wasn't enough time for him to move himself. He turned, slowly, as the car rammed into him.

He rolled over the roof of the car, descending onto the trunk.

_Thump_.

He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

He didn't see anything at first. Just black. Never ending darkness, luring him into a world of shades and shadows.

Slowly, he found himself looking at the sky, black dots dancing across the edge of his vision.

He heard screaming. Lots and lots of screaming. One particular shriek came from a familiar voice, a voice he had listened to for years. The voice of the girl he had fallen in love with.

His chest was burning with unimaginable pain. His legs and arms felt numb. His breathing was slow and ragged, his heart beating irregularly. He could smell something metallic; like the chains that held the swings he used to play on as a young child.

"_Leo_!"

Her scream rang in his ears. He could hear frantic footsteps as she ran over to him.

"God, Leo, why-" Piper was cut off by her own sob, her body shaking as she knelt by him. She reached out and caressed his cheek.

When she drew her hand back, Leo wasn't surprised to see it covered in thick, dark red liquid.

"The car ..." Leo croaked quietly.

"I know ... I know ..." She swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut. "I can call 911. The ambulance can come, and-"

"Piper, it's okay."

"What do you mean, it's okay? God, Leo, you're dying!"

"Exactly. They can't save me now."

Piper pursed her lips, her teary multi-colored irises boring into his dark brown ones. "I'm so sorry, Leo."

"I should be the sorry one."

"No, you shouldn't. We could have done so much together. Instead ... I was an idiot. I lost myself to Jason. I fell into a depression, all because of a stupid boy. I can't believe myself, Leo. We could have ..."

Piper couldn't continue. Slowly, she lay her head down on his chest, listening to his erratic breathing and his uneven heartbeat.

"I love you," he whispered.

There was no reply for the next few moments. All around them, there was screaming, shuffling.

And then he heard it.

A faint murmur, among the quietest of sounds.

"_I love you too_."

Leo smiled.

Maybe he was dying. Maybe he was about to leave the world.

But at least he knew that Piper McLean was no longer in oblivion.


End file.
